Teaching Matters' 2nd Annual Champions of Innovation and Education Celebration | Teaching Matters City Department of Education Chancellor Joel I Klein as a Champion of Innovation and Education Teaching Matters recognizes Chancellor Klein s extraordinary contributions to teaching and learning as well as his strategic focus to improve student achievement through technology innovations from School of One to the Innovation Zone to the NYC Connected Learning program Renowned New York Times Columnist Bob Herbert will deliver the keynote address Join us at noon

Questioning the Effect of Home Computers on Student Achievement | Teaching Matters should have access to computers at home can no longer be in question Problem solving critical thinking and information fluency are basic competencies all students will need to succeed in the new economy The ability to use a computer to engage in higher order tasks is now expected in most professional settings and will continue to be a necessity However low performing students who may primarily use computers for Facebook or shoot em up video games will not miraculously develop sound habits of mind without guidance and parental involvement Just as it might take a parent to turn off Pokemon and turn on Sesame Street it is an adult s responsibility to encourage young people to use technology in productive ways Home access presents an opportunity for schools to extend instruction beyond the traditional school day and promote the expectation that students can and should learn independently a critical aptitude in an economy that will require workers to completely reskill on a regular basis In an interview with eSchool News Jacob Vigdor said Providing computer training in a more structured monitored environment might avoid some issues The real policy question thus isn t about how to keep computers out of homes but about informing parents teachers and the IT industry about the risks and potentially devising techniques to mitigate harm With the proper structures in place schools can connect core in class learning to extension activities that engage students at home For home access to translate into improved student achievement we need to rethink the traditional learning environment How often do we hear from teachers about the barrier of time to creating learning environments that engage children in real authentic work especially in an environment of high stakes standardized testing Now add to that the challenge of teaching students from

Disruptive Innovation. It’s Coming... | Teaching Matters continues to improve and eventually leads the market displacing what came before Online Learning as Disruptive Innovation Horn offered school leaders food for thought when he applied this theory to the K 12 arena explaining that online learning is a promising disruptive innovation to note Online learning can make instruction more accessible and individualized therefore making learning more focused and efficient in meeting student needs Horn projected that online learning is no flash in the pan Two years ago he projected that by 2019 approximately 50 of high school courses will be taken online Today that once radical predication may be turning out to be too conservative In fact Horn thinks they will likely reach 50 ahead of 2019 Overcoming Barriers to Innovation As part of the forum principals had a chance to reflect with their peers on the theory of disruptive innovation and how they might find ways to experiment Attendees discussed ways to create discrete independent experimental spaces to seed innovative ideas in their schools without the pressure of worrying about the impact on the core program Horn provided principals an exciting list of areas that he believed were ripe for disruptive innovation beyond high school including some surprises like preschool Online Learning Has a Way to Go Not surprising given Horn s theory many principals complained about the quality of online courses today textbooks online that is all most of them are right now said one principal Horn spoke candidly to the principals telling them that they can influence the quality of the online learning available to students if they collectively demand it He indicated that state policies will have to reward actual learning not seat time if we want to incentivize the creation of transformative high quality online learning Simply rewarding seat time could lead to

MTA Eliminates 19th Century Technology from Students | Teaching Matters of technology to advance education something I care deeply about the MTA is effectively eliminating the19th century technology that makes it possible for poor students to get to schools of choice the train The MTA has announced budget cuts that will eliminate the free metro pass for students requiring families to fork over 80 dollars per child per month think 240 dollars for a family of three to go to school Is this a pre Brown vs Board of Education policy or what Choice in schools is a fundamental part of the New York City education deal Students apply to middle and high schools and travel long distances to get opportunities not available to them locally The MTA s mission is not education Why then do they have control over this mission critical educational budget item The impact on poor students is devastating I for one would pay double for a metro card to see this cut taken off the table In fact the first student that reads this blog and proves that he or she can no longer afford to get to a school of choice because he or she can t afford it can get the metro card

School of One | Teaching Matters students the best of breed content and meet their specific needs Can you see how I might have been confused Joel s vision went beyond the traditional ILS because he was talking not only about computerized individualized instruction but live online tutoring and teachers delivering their favorite lesson plans Still I knew one of the main challenges of these systems is that teachers usually do not align their instruction to take advantage of the technology delivered content or assessment data they offer Maybe for good reason but that is why these systems often fail When I visited the School of One prototype in the redesigned library of PS 131 I saw four teachers four assistant teachers three online tutors high school students and a back end team of data analysts in the most impressive educational control room I have ever seen Each educator was focused on teaching or assessing a different skill in a different way And I still didn t get it I liked it but I didn t know why All I could think about was reducing the educator student ratio 1 to 10 not including the online tutors so that this could be scalable But the more I reduced the ratio the more it felt like a traditional ILS system So it was after trying to convince another education technology expert that SCHOOL OF ONE was not an ILS he read the Times article that I finally nailed my source of confusion This wasn t about using technology to teach students it was about enabling a more complex teaching organism maximizing the ability of a large group of educators to act and react in real time The computer aided instruction is about reinforcement practice differentiation but it is not the exciting technology in the room or the

2009 Innovative Principal Forum | Teaching Matters 07 22 2009 2 09pm At our Innovative Principal Forum 2009 we invited three principals of schools experimenting extensively with technology as well as the Director of New Schools to speak with 65 of their peers about following questions What is the purpose of the 21st century school video What are higher order 21st century skills video Why do they matter now more than ever video What are the tensions between our accountability systems and teaching of higher order 21st century skills video How are these schools managing that tension video What examples of school innovation enhanced by technology are they experimenting with video School Home Communication Curriculum Reform Access at the Learning Moment We launched our Rubric for School Innovation and simple self assessment checklist designed to outline a set of critical questions to guide school leaders assess themselves on a continuum of school innovation in a set of critical areas A short explanation of terms and ideas behind the document are useful background Leaders who presented at the session included Alisa Berger Principal NYC iSchool Sarah Scrogin Principal East Bronx Academy for the Future Gregg Korrol Principal PS 101 Julian Cohen Director New School Development Lynette Guastaferro Executive

Realizing the Promise of the 21st Century School: Leadership Forum | Teaching Matters on Realizing the Promise of the 21st Century School A Roadmap for Innovation Wednesday July 15 2009 2 00 pm 4 00 pm 475 Riverside Drive New York NY 10115 Annual Forum for School Leaders More information on the program is included below Please let your school leaders know What is a 21st century school Technology is radically changing every sector of our society yet schools remain largely unchanged Or do they Hear from a panel of innovative NYC school leaders on the vanguard of rethinking urban education They will speak about their experiences regarding what is important the challenges and what s possible Alisa Berger Principal NYC iSchool Sarah Scrogin Principal East Bronx Academy for the Future Gregg Korrol Principal PS 101 Julian Cohen Director New School Development Teaching Matters will also provide a new and simple assessment tool for gauging where your school lies on a continuum of the 21st century school outcomes It will help you evaluate your school s readiness and offer a roadmap of ideas for innovation in those areas you deem most critical Wine cheese will be served All principals who attend will be eligible to enter a raffle to jump start a 21st

PS 5 Students in the Bronx Document the Impact of the XO | Teaching Matters Impact of the XO Submitted by Lynette Guastaferro on Fri 06 19 2009 2 00am Check out the students at PS 5 in the Port Morris section of the Bronx and their amazing documentary about the history and impact of Nicholas Negroponte s ground breaking XO pilot project in their school The video speaks for itself I don t want to give anything away XO Project Documentary Class 501 Port